Wednesday, June 11

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Sports Mole previews Tuesday's International Friendlies clash between Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

As both sides prepare for September's World Cup qualifiers, Slovenia are set to host Bosnia-Herzegovina for a friendly at Stadion Z'dezele on Tuesday.

Reprezentanca will be looking for a third consecutive win, while Zmajevi will be hoping for a fourth victory on the bounce in midweek.

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Match preview

Matjaz Kek's Slovenia were in mixed form during their UEFA Nations League campaign earlier this year, but they won their relegation playoff against Slovakia back in March and have since followed up with another win.

On Friday, Reprezentanca kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory over Luxembourg, but despite the result, the manager will be concerned that his team were only able to generate one effort on target against the nation ranked 91st by FIFA.

Looking ahead to their World Cup qualifiers, Kek's side have been drawn in Group B along with Kosovo, Sweden and Switzerland, and they will be keen to build on their momentum going into those tough fixtures with another win this week.

To this end, the hosts could draw confidence from their commendable home record that features two wins, two draws and one loss from their last five home games, as well as their consistent resilience on their own turf that has seen them defeated just once in the last three years as the nominal home team.

Another triumph on Tuesday would take Slovenia's current unbeaten streak to five matches and would set them in good stead prior to their first World Cup qualifying clash against Sweden at the start of September.

Meanwhile, Sergej Barbarez's Bosnia-Herzegovina have already begun their World Cup qualifying campaign in excellent form, earning nine points from their three games so far.

Zmajevi's most recent victory came on Saturday, when they thoroughly dominated San Marino, denying them a single shot on target while having six of their own.

That being said, the boss will be concerned that his team were only able to find the back of the net once against FIFA's lowest-ranked national side, though talismanic striker Edin Dzeko proved that he remains a difference maker when it matters.

Three points at the weekend moved Barbarez's men six clear at the top of Group H after second-placed Romania lost last time out, and they already seem well-positioned to make the 2026 tournament.

Triumph on Tuesday would be a fourth consecutive win for Bosnia-Herzegovina, but given that the visitors have won just one of their seven away fixtures leading up to this friendly, losing five and drawing the other, fans may have doubts about the result.

Slovenia International Friendlies form:

Slovenia form (all competitions):

Bosnia-Herzegovina form (all competitions):

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Team News

Slovenia's match winner against Luxembourg, Tamar Svetlin, should start on the left flank this week, alongside Sandi Lovric and Petar Stojanovic behind striker Blaz Kramer, who should be the choice up top once again with Benjamin Sesko out injured.

Elsewhere, goalkeeper Jan Oblak sat out his side's match at the weekend, and he could stay on the bench on Tuesday ahead of Atletico Madrid's participation in the Club World Cup later this month.

As for Bosnia-Herzegovina, centre-backs Adrian Leon Barisic and Nikola Katic both picked up injuries against San Marino, and Ermin Bicakcic could be joined by Tarik Muharemovic at the heart of Barbarez's defence this time around.

Either side of them, full-backs Arjan Malic and Dzenis Burnic should provide overlapping runs to support Samed Bazdar and Ermedin Demirovic in attack.  

Slovenia possible starting lineup:

Vekic; Karnicnik, Drkusic, Bijol, Janza; Petrovic, Elsnik; Stojanovic, Lovric, Svetlin; Kramer 

Bosnia-Herzegovina possible starting lineup:

Vasilij; Malic, Bicakcic, Muharemovic, Burnic; Tahirovic, Sunjic; Hajradinovic, Gigovic; Demirovic, Bazdar

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We say: Slovenia 2-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina

 

Bosnia-Herzegovina may have won three on the bounce ahead of this clash, but their travelling record suggests that they could struggle in midweek.

Contrastingly, Slovenia have been resilient at home for years, and they will be expecting a positive result on Tuesday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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